Tangent
by fuwacchi
Summary: They were comfortable, content, happy. And none of them could have foreseen this to have occurred. This soul shattering event that could've possibly changed both their lives forever.


**Title:** Tangent  
**Words:** 1,593

**Disclaimer:** Don't own _Kuroko no Basuke_ and any of its characters.

-x-

It wasn't supposed to go like this.

'_It wasn't supposed to go like this,'_ he repeated in his head as he slumped against the pure white wall behind him. It was icy cold against his back, but he felt none of it for his mind was in a deeper, darker abyss. The void in his heart was far colder; literally freezing, numbing, _desensitising_ him.

Lifeless red and gold heterochromatic eyes stared past crimson bangs at the words flashing above the double doors before him. They were just a room apart, yet he felt the other was outside his reach. So close, yet so far. The red lights flashing 'EMERGENCY ROOM' seemed to be mocking him, intent on taking his beloved away. _Forever_.

He still couldn't believe this was happening. Only a few hours ago, the other had been with him, smiling that little almost non-existent smile which he would've missed if he wasn't who he was. They were comfortable. Content. _Happy_. And none of them could have foreseen this to have occurred. This soul shattering event that could possibly change both their lives forever; or maybe just one life, if the other didn't make i—he stopped himself from finishing that thought, unable to accept any future without _him_.

Earlier that day, they had gone on a date. They barely had much time to themselves lately as university life often interfered. Thus when the chance presented itself, it was only natural they took the opportunity to spend some quality time together. He had bought tickets to the latest action film being aired, purchasing drinks and snacks during the wait for the other.

When he caught sight of a tuft of sky blue hair and cerulean eyes, he had been elated, missing the other dearly as they didn't share the same campus at university. His eyes carefully followed the other's movements, watching as he weaved past the crowd oblivious to his existence, like a calm flowing river; as his light blue scarf flowed behind him as he walked; as cerulean eyes lit up as the man spotted him; as a small smile graced that angelic face.

"Tetsuya," he had greeted when the shorter male stopped before him. Reaching out to grasp the aforementioned's hand, he pulled the other into his embrace. As he placed his head against powder blue hair, a vanilla scent overwhelmed him and he breathed it all in, welcoming the other's smell, warmth and presence. "It's been a while." If Tetsuya noticed the pained longing in his voice, he didn't mention it, merely wrapping his arms around him and returning his embrace.

They had then proceeded to watch the movie and two hours later, they were headed for a small cafe. Ordering biscuits and drinks, they engaged in small talks about almost anything and everything; how the other's been, what they've done on their rare days off, if they've met with any of their friends, and what did they do together with said friend when they met. Despite keeping in contact through texts and calls, even those weren't too often as their workload often got the better of them. This was a nice change of pace, he had thought. Everything was going perfectly well, as he expected they should've.

When it came time to bid each other farewell, however, there was just a minor miscalculation on his part. He had insisted on taking the other back home. The other, on the other hand, had shook his head, his blue hair becoming messier than it was previously due to the action, and stubbornly declined.

"I don't want to be a bother," he had said.

Really, Tetsuya worried about him a tad bit too much. If anything, he was more worried for the shorter boy as he knew the other had trouble coping with his studies. Besides, as Tetsuya's lover he had the responsibility to at least do that much, did he not?

"There's really no need."

Sighing, he had simply let it go at that. His beloved could be strangely persistent when it came to certain matters. And so, they shared a kiss and parted ways, bidding each other farewell.

However, what was the result of his lenience? If he'd only tried harder to persuade the other, then perhaps his lover wouldn't have been so close to sliding past his fingers, escaping his grasp forever.

He was approximately twenty minutes away from his apartment when he received a call from an unknown number. It was Tetsuya's father, calling from the hospital. He had sounded so distressed, clearly having trouble getting his words across to him. He could faintly hear sobbing in the background from the other line. It didn't take him long to add all the clues together and figuring everything out, despite not being told of the situation. Before the elder man could continue his stuttering, he had demanded where they were. After battling against his patience and waiting for the man to utter the location, which he still had trouble doing, he had turned his car around and headed in the direction of the hospital (of his beloved).

Which led to him now staring at the double doors before him. He, along with his lover's parents, had waited for over two hours and yet there were still no news of the other's condition. At first, he had been shocked by the news, but that did not deter him. He was certain that his lover... that Tetsuya would survive through this obstacle and come back into his awaiting arms. However, he could feel his resolve shake with each passing second.

Would the other make it out alive? What would he do if he didn't...? What would have been left of him...?

The thoughts were endless, haunting him to the depths of his core.

Fortunately (or maybe not so fortunately) for him, the double doors opened then. All thoughts ceased as he waited expectantly for the doctor to inform him of the good news. News that Tetsuya had been saved.

The doctor decided to do the exact opposite.

His face was grim as he stepped foot into the corridor. A frown marred his face as he pulled off the mask hiding the lower half of his head. His eyes made contact with the three standing in front of him before lowering to the ground. With a slightly hunched back, he approached the trio.

He had already knew the result of the operation, then, but he refused to believe it. No, no, no. It just couldn't have been happening.

"I'm sorry."

When the words came out of the doctor's mouth, he had already been expecting it. (His mind screamed at the elderly man, though. That was a lie!_ A lie...!_)

His legs finally gave out on him, like lead pulling him down into the ocean, suffocating, _drowning_ him, and he collapsed onto the seat beneath him. It was black. A large contrast to the pure white walls it leaned against. It was ironic. Why were there black chairs in the hospital? Black symbolised death. Hospitals were places meant to save lives! The doctors were supposed to save _his_ life!

Just one mistake. It was just one tiny mistake on his part that led to his ultimate demise, letting Tetsuya slip through his fingers. If he'd only drove the other back home, regardless of whether it was in the opposite direction of his apartment or not, then perhaps his lover would've still been here, alive. If he'd just gone with the other, even if he had to walk, then perhaps he could've saved him. Perhaps he could've stopped Tetsuya from crossing the road, even if it was the green light. Perhaps he could've stopped Tetsuya from being ran over by a driver, who was very much still alive, who just didn't see the boy with a lower presence than ordinary people... After all, with his eye, it wouldn't have been that difficult to notice the other. With his eye, he could've saved the other.

A chuckle escaped his lips, then, but it was everything a laugh wasn't. In fact, it was quite the opposite: humourless, empty, dark.

For he was Akashi Seijuurou; and Akashi Seijuurou never made mistakes.

Akashi Seijuurou planned everything from the most miniscule occurrence in his life to the most unexpected events. He went through everything in detail from top to bottom, left to right. Never missing a single step, that was how he led (lived) his life. If he was asked whether his bond with Kuroko Tetsuya was within his expectations, he would've agreed readily, even though in reality he was quite uncertain about the budding feelings he had for the other male. When he was certain of them, however, he never once looked back and was determined to do everything he could to make the other his.

So... Why was it that the most important things never went as planned?

As the volume of the Kuroko mother's cries grew louder with each sob and the father comforted his life-long partner, and failing miserably at that as he wallowed in his own despair, he didn't register any of it. He was far too desensitised from the outside world, his presence only present within his mind. But even then, it slowly diminished until he was left with nothing but a hollow vessel.

He was empty. Couldn't feel a thing. Numb.

And as a lone tear escaped from the corner of his amber eye, he uttered—

_"Tetsuya..."_

—the name of the person (_his most important person_) who was no longer alive.

-x-

**A/N:** So I've wanted to write this for...maybe a bit over a month now, or maybe even two, ever since I read a prompt on Tumblr: _Imagine your OTP having an ordinary conversation, and the last thing one of them says before they need to leave is "I'll see you later!" And imagine them never coming back._ I'm actually going to write a sequel to this, but it'll be an Akashi/Kise multi-chaptered fic and the process of how Akashi comes to love another again. It can also be read as a stand alone though.


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